Sigmoid Colostomy - please help

[hannah-rose]

Hello all,

I'm mentally preparing myself for a temporary sigmoid colostomy which would hopefully allow my anus to heal (anal fissure + ulcer). I havent been told I'll need one yet, I'm just preparing for the worst.

I've no idea about stomas and I've googled a bit but I want to prepare myself so if my surgeon suggests it I dont burst into hysterical tears in his office - I refuse to feel sorry for myself or let this stand in my way in terms of what I want to achieve in my life.

Because the only part of my digestive tract that needs to heal is my anus, I imagine a sigmoid colostomy would be the most likely choice for me, and I've read that sigmoid colostomys allow a more 'normal' digestive transit with formed stools and only needing to 'go' once a day or whatever, and I've also heard that people with this type of stoma can irrigate once a day and so sometimes just gauze, a pad, or a small bag needs to be worn (as opposed to an ileostomy or an ascending colostomy which fills slowly and continuously or regularly throughout the day, so I've read).

Does anybody have a sigmoid colostomy? Does this sound like the type of 'ostomy I would be offered if I needed one? Has anybody had a colostomy reversed? What's a typical day like in the life of a person with a sigmoid colostomy?

Thanks, very very much appreciated xxx

 

[Nyx]

I have a colostomy, but mine's permanent. And all of your research is correct! I have fully formed stools (most of the time...unless I eat something that disagrees with me...lol). I usually wind up emptying my bag a few times a day, but I'm one of those people who can't stand having poop in my bag. So, I don't wait for it to fill up before emptying.

People with colostomies can do irrigation, and while I haven't tried it yet, I may some day. It would be nice to not wear a bag for swimming or under nice more form fitting clothes.

Colostomies are much bigger then ileostomies, and I find mine protrudes much more than some (Oscar sticks out about 2"), but I can squish him down if I need to. Remarkably, he's very resilient! My 5 year old stepdaughted even kicked me square on and he survived with only a little bruising around the site (mind you, it hurt like a bugger and bled alot, but it turned out alright and I didn't even have to go to the doctor).

A typical day in the life? Well, I usually get up, go to the washroom, change the liner in my bag and off I go. I do everything I used to do and more! If you get the right appliance for you, you can go swimming, work out, camp, go on long trips, and not worry about finding a bathroom. The best part for me was that I always had a sore anus from the disease. Sitting used to be torture! Now, no problems back there at all. Every time I go pee I usually check my bag and change the liner if needed. It only takes a minute and I can do it anywhere - including public washrooms.

I hope this has been helpful! Having a bag really isn't all that bad. It just takes some getting used to...

 

[Terriernut]

My life is much better in that my runnnnning to the loo 25-30 times isnt there anymore. Damn, I'm getting flabby now because of that!!!

You will feel 100% better after you've recovered from the surgery I dont doubt. I had my sigmoid out. What a relief, after it kept perforating.

Dont feel scared...it really will help you out to have a break to heal.

Life is BETTER with a bag in many ways, although we all have our mishaps occasionally!

 

[hannah-rose]

I have a colostomy, but mine's permanent. And all of your research is correct! I have fully formed stools (most of the time...unless I eat something that disagrees with me...lol). I usually wind up emptying my bag a few times a day, but I'm one of those people who can't stand having poop in my bag. So, I don't wait for it to fill up before emptying.

People with colostomies can do irrigation, and while I haven't tried it yet, I may some day. It would be nice to not wear a bag for swimming or under nice more form fitting clothes.

Colostomies are much bigger then ileostomies, and I find mine protrudes much more than some (Oscar sticks out about 2"), but I can squish him down if I need to. Remarkably, he's very resilient! My 5 year old stepdaughted even kicked me square on and he survived with only a little bruising around the site (mind you, it hurt like a bugger and bled alot, but it turned out alright and I didn't even have to go to the doctor).

A typical day in the life? Well, I usually get up, go to the washroom, change the liner in my bag and off I go. I do everything I used to do and more! If you get the right appliance for you, you can go swimming, work out, camp, go on long trips, and not worry about finding a bathroom. The best part for me was that I always had a sore anus from the disease. Sitting used to be torture! Now, no problems back there at all. Every time I go pee I usually check my bag and change the liner if needed. It only takes a minute and I can do it anywhere - including public washrooms.

I hope this has been helpful! Having a bag really isn't all that bad. It just takes some getting used to...

Thanks that's really helpful? When you say colostomys are bigger, do you mean cos the colon is just a bigger organ than the small intestine and so its a bigger stoma in general? Also, how come it sticks out? I cant see the benefit in the durgeon making it all pointy like some giant nose for no reason, is it just one of those things or do colostomy stomas usually poke out?

I'd love not to use my bum hole at least till (if) it heals. My GI and CRS are still in cahoots and havent given me another appointment yet, but i'm one step ahead anticipating what theyre going to tell me.

Can you feel it when you 'go' through your stoma? Obvs when you have a poo normally you get the urge and then you push it out, but can you control it at all or do you feel it coming out of you?

I could definitely cope if it was temporary, which unless they couldnt fix my bum (which I think is unlikely) it would be. The joy of not having to poop out of my shredded butt hole would be joyfull. (Tmi?) I have a relatively good (sick) sense of humour about stuff so I'd probably threaten to chase people with it if they decided to be insensitive to me

How bad can you see it under clothes? I'm quite petitie and I do tend to wear quite trendy, tight clothes. I was thinking this morning about how you could wear leggings but then cut a hole for it to poke out of whereabouts is your positioned? is it quite low down? Also, have you ever had any accidents and what causes these? is it smelly normally?

Thanks sorry about all the questions!

Hannah xx

 

[Nyx]

To answer your questions:

When you say colostomys are bigger, do you mean cos the colon is just a bigger organ than the small intestine and so its a bigger stoma in general? Also, how come it sticks out? You're right, the colon is bigger so therefore your stoma will be bigger than if it was made from the small intestine. And it just sticks out because it's bigger. That actually turns out to be a good thing because I find that most people with a colostomy don't usually have to worry about a prolapsed stoma and the output comes out not as close to the skin.

Can you feel it when you 'go' through your stoma? Obvs when you have a poo normally you get the urge and then you push it out, but can you control it at all or do you feel it coming out of you? Sometimes I can feel it, sometimes I can't. For me, it really depends on the consistency of my stool. The harder ones I can feel, but it doesn't hurt at all...it's more like pressure. And no, you can't control it at all. It's not like the anus where you have a sphincter to control when you go. When you gotta go, you go....lol Same with farts, can't control those either.

How bad can you see it under clothes? People don't know I have a stoma unless I tell them. There's a thread on here about ostomies and clothing and there are some pics of us in our bathing suits. You can't even see it. The only problem I have with wearing really tight clothes is that the output can't get out and that can become an issue when you take the clothes off....lol But other than that, I don't have a problem with wearing tightish jeans or leggings (I like your idea btw of cutting out a hole!).

whereabouts is your positioned? is it quite low down? Mine's on the left side, just below my belly button. I didn't get a choice about where mine is positioned, so I kind of lucked out (I had emergency surgery). So, if you get to pick where yours goes, wear your favourite pair of jeans or pants and get them to position it so that it's not right on your belt line. Put it either above or below. Cutting your stoma off with the waist of your pants is annoying.

Also, have you ever had any accidents and what causes these? is it smelly normally? Fortunately for me, I've never had an accident. But, what causes them is not having a good seal on your flange. Your stoma nurse will go over all that with you. I find because I don't have liquidy output it doesn't seep under the flange and casue problems. For the most part, I get about a week to 10 days out of a flange - as opposed to about 3 to 5 days for people with ileostomies. I also don't use paste or any kind of sealant around my stoma either. I've been very lucky so far. And no, it's not smelly - except when you change it...lol But that's expected. When the bag is on and secure, you can't smell anything.

Any more questions, fire away!

 

[hannah-rose]

Thanks that's really helpful! One more quick question - if there's nothing wrong with my actual colon or intestines, would they be able to do the procedure through keyhole surgery? Or would there be an open icision? I was just googling and surely if they dont have to remove any part of my colon, they just have to reach in, snip and pull the end out. I dont want anymore scars than are necessary - not for vanity because obviously all scars heal and fade eventually (and there's always bio oil!) but it's just another wound to take care of and prevent from getting infected etc.

What do you think?